GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Following a weekend sweep, the Colorado Mesa women's soccer team looks to continue their hot streak as they split time on the road and at home this week. The team will head South to Durango to take on Fort Lewis Friday, before returning back to the comforts of Mavericks Field on Sunday, meeting with neighbors Western Colorado.

Both games are scheduled to kickoff at 1 p.m. MST.

Weekend Rewind
Riding high on an upset win the weekend prior, the Mavericks hot streak carried into a weekend sweep of Colorado School of Mines and Regis last week.

Mikayla Eccher got the scoring underway in the 26^th minute, handling the keeper's deflection off a shot from Lila Dere. Four minutes following, the Orediggers knotted it up, the tie score holding through the remainder of the first half.

About 10-minutes into the second period, Dere kept possession in the midst of box traffic, using the left post to put team back on top. Entering the last 10-minutes of play, Dere would come away with her second score of the game and the insurance goal.

The last time the Mavericks defeated the Orediggers was back in 2007, 2006 being the last time the team had put three between the pipes.
Two days later the sweep was made complete behind a record setting four goal performance by none other than Dere.

With two goals secured midway through the opening period, the Mavs enjoyed the early lead.
Just before the team's broke for the half, Mines would cut the deficit to one.

Entering into the 53^rd minute, Dere became the 12^th player in program history to record a hat trick, propelling the team back to a 2-goal lead. That lead would later be extended to three as

Dere teamed up with Adessa Correa to complete the record-setting performance.
 
RMAC Offensive Player of the Week
After an impressive six goal performance over the weekend, Colorado Mesa's Lila Dere claimed Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week, the league announced Tuesday.

The Grand Junction local etched her name in the program record books after putting together four-goals in the 4-1 defeat of Regis. Earlier in the weekend, her brace led the way for the Mavericks to take down Colorado School of Mines for the first time since 2007. She tallied six goals on the weekend, and brings her season total to 11 – taking over the conference leaderboard.

With barely a full season under her belt, she is the first Maverick to reach double-figures in goals in a season since Daniela Ramirez in the 2009 campaign. Her 18 career goals put her 8^th in the record books.

Double the Shots, Double the Scoring
The Mavs have combined for 167 shots, leading the conference with 18.56 shots per game. 85 of those shots have landed between the pipes, which boast the top-spot in the league with an average of 9.44 SOG per game.

At an average of 2.55 goals per game, CMU has the third highest offense and are outscoring opponents by a 1.34 margin.

Scouting the Skyhawks
Following a loss and a draw last weekend, Fort Lewis comes into the weekend with a 3-5-1 record, 1-3-1 in league play. Their lone conference win came in a 4-1 decision over New Mexico Highlands.

Madyson Barela leads the team with four goals and an assist, following closely behind is senior Katie Smith who has three goals to her credit. Smith is a Grand Junction local, and compliments the Skyhawks offense with the second most shots at 15, 10 falling on goal.

Katherine Dunbabin holds a .689 save percentage as the go-to in goal, securing 31 saves and a 3-5 record.

Series History
The Mavs look to grab their 15^th win in the overall series, and the first since 2016. Two out of the last three meetings have ended in a draw, the most recent on March 7, 2021.
Sydney Hathaway broke through in the 87^th minute, forcing the eventual 110-minutes draw outcome.

Scouting the Mountaineers
Western Colorado had an identical weekend to the Skyhawks, suffering a loss to New Mexico Highlands, before battling to a draw at Colorado Christian. The Mountaineers are out to a 4-5-1 record, and 1-3-1 in league play.

Laura Pelino has two goals and two assists, Caileen Sienknecht adding three goals into the mix.

Kaeyla Noble has collected 72 saves for a .809 save percentage and three shutouts while defending the goal.

Series History
One more win will give CMU their 10^th in the overall series, and stretch the winning streak to eight. The win streak has consisted of six shutouts, and conceding just one goal by the Mountaineers.

The last win was dominant, 5-0 back in the second spring meeting between the teams.

RMAC Preseason Poll
This season the Mavericks came in at No. 7 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Poll, moving up a spot from last season's poll, collecting 85 votes. Head Coach Megan Remec returns for the Fall season after leading the team to 5-4-1 record last season and a berth in the RMAC Tournament.

Colorado School of Mines garnered seven first-place votes to take home the top-spot, followed by UCCS and CSU Pueblo who each received three first-place votes.

Up Next
The team will remain at home following Sunday's contest, marking the team's last set of home games for the season. They will play host to Colorado Christian and MSU Denver, Friday and Sunday respectively.